Archive for Week 3 Discussions

Groups need to communicate both verbally and non-verbally. Verbally is an obvious way to communicate, and is used not only for generally talking, but speaking with different tones in your voice show emotion and can let people know if you are angry, excited, tired, or happy. Another way to show is emotion is to use non-verbal communication. Body language and facial expressions are great ways to communicate non-verbally as well as gestures. If you give someone a high five or thumbs up, it shows you’re proud of them or happy about accomplishing something.

This is a picture of my cheerleading team. When we stunt, communication is crucial so that we can execute the stunts correctly and safely. We use verbal communication when loading into the stunt (1-2-down-up). Once in a stunt, it is very difficult to communicate verbally, so we use different types of non-verbal communication. If the bases (girls on bottom) are too close together or too far apart, I can move my legs in and out to let them know where to move. If they are uneven heights, I tap one of my legs to let that base know to re-position. To communicate when we are coming down, the bases will dip down a bit to let me know. Girls that aren’t in the stunt, look for facial expressions and body language that show distress or off-balance If they see these types of communication, they know that someone may need to be caught.

Both verbal and non-verbal communication are very important in any large or small group of people. Body language has a lot to do with non-verbal communication, how you’re sitting or your facial expressions help in interpreting how you feel. With non-verbal communication its more of an instinct that takes over to let you know how someone is working emotionally and how you should then respond. Verbal communication results in an almost instant response. In the military when you are told to do something verbally you do it immediately. And eventually you will learn non-verbal commands and be expected to respond just as quickly. I saw a lot of this when I attended my boyfriends USMC Graduation.

At a Marine Graduation there is both verbal and non-verbal communication going on. When commands are given the recruits respond quickly and uniformly. Sometimes all it takes is a wave of the hand or click of the heels and these recruits know exactly how to respond. In this picture you can see non-verbally expressed is concentration, unison, and pride. It took a lot of verbal communication to achieve these results but as I sat quietly in the stands, my non-verbal communication to his family was easy received as excited and giddy. Smiles and hugs are all non-verbal ways of showing emotion, verbally saying your happy doesn’t always mean as much as jumping up and down. In any group large or small communication is key, especially when maintaining control.

There are many ways that groups communicate verbally and non-verbally. Although we may have not realized it, even what people wear is communicating to us about who they are or what their personality is like. A smile on somebody’s face or hearing that they are laughing may communicate to you that they are happy or something to them is funny. Tears running down their face may show you that they are sad or going through a hard time; if they are close to you, you can non-verbally respond with something like a hug, communicating to them that you are there for them and care about them. Or you can use verbal communication and say “I want you to know I’m always here for you.” Communication is all around us, all of the time.

I took this photo while in San Diego, California at the Green Bay Packer game against the San Diego Chargers. This photo shows a lot of communication. You could look at what people are wearing. Those in the stands wearing a blue jersey, are communicating to you that they are a Chargers fan; while those in green, gold, and white are Packers fans. Even the unforgettable cheese heads, shows people they’re Packer fans. The girls in cheerleader outfits tells you they are cheerleaders. The guys with the giant cameras tell us that they probably work for the media. Seeing the guys in “action” dressed in football uniforms, you know they’re the players. If you know your football, know your players, you’ll see that Charlie Peprah for the Packers has the ball. In this picture, if you know football, you’ll know that he is a safety, which is a defensive position… all this shows you that since he is running with the football, he intercepted the ball and is running it back for a touchdown. In the background, the Packer fans have their mouths wide open, showing that they’re cheering they’re team on in excitement. Their hands are up because their team is going to get a touchdown. The Chargers fans in the background are not cheering, they look down because their team just gave up the ball.